Sunday, August 21, 2011

“Binary Stable”, the submission I turned into the UWA Art Challenge for August, now has a variation with a 3D mirror.

A mirror is more than a mirror in Second Life. I wanted to stretch the idea of its virtual possibilities. A painter’s gimmick that has been popular with artists for several hundred years is to have the character(s) in the composition face the viewer so that the eyes meet. This draws in the viewer. We museum goers may first notice the character(s) in a painting if they lock eyes with us. I’ve done the same with the centaur. Instead of having him look a little down to the man in his arms, he has turned his head slightly up and to the right, so he stares directly at you, the viewer. This is not an accurate position for the otherwise faithful reversal of poses inside of and outside of the mirror, but in a virtual mirror, you can be so invited.

I’ve experimented with mirrors before. It’s a trial and error process. This is the most convincing one I’ve made. If you observe the mirror while walking around the area, you will see that it is indeed 3D, and the image is far from being static. Included below is the landmark for “Binary Stable” in Second Life so you can come and reflect on the phenomenon!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Currently, I am preparing a project for BURN2 which is due to be placed on the sim for Burning Man on Aug 25. My theme is journeying from real life into a virtual world. This section of the sculpture is called Binary Stable, which will be submitted as a variation to the UWA Aug challenge. The yellow figure, only shown in frontal view and above the waist, is a centaur. As I finish textures and bring the build into a more finished stage, I'll post more pictures.